The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Brexit and the Jews - Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld

by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld

The EU is no friend of Israel, but it keeps the Labour Party in line.

The outcome of the 23 June referendum on Brexit, i.e whether the
United Kingdom should remain or leave the European Union, will have
consequences for Israel, whether direct or indirect. Polls indicate that
the result will be very close.[1]
If the majority of the British vote to remain, the EU will get a boost.
It is unlikely that there will be a new British referendum on the
subject for several years to come. Furthermore no other member country
is likely to consult its citizens whether to stay in the EU or to leave.

Israel
has a vested interest in the continued existence of the present EU
membership, albeit greatly weakened internally. Like several other
supranational bodies, the EU scandalously discriminates against Israel.
It regularly incites against Israel and interferes in its internal
affairs. The EU applies double standards in its relations with Israel,
such as its requirement for labeling of products from the West Bank and
the Golan. This is an anti-Semitic act according to the IHRA definition
of this hatred which was accepted by many countries.[2]

No
such demands are made of other countries dealing with a similar
territorial reality. In its stance against Israel, the EU's actions have
more to do with imperialist law than with the precepts of international
law which, it claims, govern its attitudes.

Yet if Britain
exits the EU, the resulting instability in Europe could potentially
bring disadvantages for Israel in its wake. A Brexit would also free the
UK from commitments to act in line with overall EU policies. If,
untrammeled by such commitments, a Labour party government would win
British elections in the future, the resulting problems for Israel could
increase greatly.

This would be even more likely if Jeremy
Corbyn, the current party leader who calls Hamas and Hezbollah ‘his
friends, would become Prime Minister. A situation could then be created
where many Government positions would be filled with extreme Israel
haters. If Labour came to power while the UK remained in the EU, the
need to stay more or less in line with other countries would be a
constraining force on its anti-Israelism. That is why I think that a
victory for the Remain supporters, preferably by a very small majority,
would be in Israel’s best interest.Only
a few people have publicly stated that their viewpoint on Brexit is
determined by their Jewishness or by their attitude toward Israel. Times Columnist
and author Melanie Phillips wrote “I am in favor of Britain leaving the
EU so that it can become once again a democratic, self-governing
nation. I also believe it would be in the interests of the US, Israel
and Europe itself if the EU were to break up.” She added: “Uncontrolled
migration, Islamization and the absence of any ability to hold EU rulers
to account have caused mass alienation among the European public from
the political mainstream. This has created rising support for
ultra-nationalist and extremist parties.”[3]

Journalist Angela Epstein, also in favor of Brexit, referred to "the bloody history of pan-European fascism."[4]
Academic Geoffrey Alderman concluded a lengthy analysis of the pros and
cons of Brexit by writing “Brexit comes down to a question of
sovereignty. As a religious Jew, I pray for the welfare of the nation.
And that is why I shall be voting for Brexit on June 23.”[5]

Some
well-known Jews have expressed personal opinions on Brexit which are
not based on their being Jewish. For instance, Moshe Kantor, President
of the European Jewish Congress, opposes Brexit. This Russian
billionaire who lives in London, does so for economic reasons.[6]

There
is one group of Jews living in the UK who have potentially much to fear
from Brexit. This is the growing colony of French Jews, who in recent
years have left France for Britain. Part did so because of the
increasing anti-Semitism in France.[7]
They may have to go through bureaucratic processes to maintain the
right to live and work in the UK. In an extreme development, some may
even lose their British residency.

The British have many problems
running their own country. Yet like several other European governments
they claim wrongly that they know what is best for Israel, and regularly
interfere in Israel’s affairs. The Israeli government, by contrast, has
wisely kept out of the Brexit debate. However, an Israeli NGO Regavim,
has teamed up with anonymous British expats living in Israel, setting
up a campaign website in support of Brexit. The website features a clip
of a fake Hamas press conference, praising the EU because of its –
illegal -- construction of housing in the Area C, its labeling of
products on the West Bank and the Golan, and the EU aid funds made
available to the Palestinians, part of which are used for Hamas’s terror
tunnels and to support terrorists in Israeli prisons.[8]

There
are other aspects of the Brexit debate, which have some relevance from
an Israeli or Jewish point of view. As with almost any major issue, the
Holocaust has featured in the rhetoric. British minister and former
London Mayor Boris Johnson, among the leaders of the Brexit campaign,
invoked Winston Churchill and told Brits to be “the heroes of Europe
again.” Johnson said of European integration, “Napoleon, Hitler, various
people tried this out, and it ends tragically.”[9]

Former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine wrote a strong-worded response to Johnson.[10]
However, Andrew Roberts, a leading British historian, came out in
support, stating that “I think Boris Johnson is absolutely right from a
historical perspective." He added, “there is something inherently
destabilizing about trying to get 30-odd states into one political
entity. This one-size fits all doesn’t work historically speaking. The
Remain campaign are screaming about something that Boris didn’t say and
it’s a straw man argument to argue against something that somebody
didn’t say in the first place.”[11]
Former chancellor Lord Lamont said there was 'no doubt at all' that the
rise of [the fascist party] Golden Dawn in Greece was 'directly linked
to the sado-austerity' imposed on the country by the European Union.[12]

About ten years ago I interviewed French sociologist Shmuel Trigano for my book Israel and Europe: An expanding Abyss. At
that time, he already had a very negative perspective on the EU and
said: “There have been three European empires before, under Charles the
Great, Napoleon and Hitler, characterized respectively by
evangelization, domination, and terror. That is not reassuring.” He
added that the EU was at a disadvantage compared to the Napoleonic
Empire, which had a charismatic leader and a political center. The EU
however only has its “bureaucratic administrative headquarters in
Brussels.”[13]

Finally,
one more aspect of the Brexit debate is of some importance to Israel.
There are still those in Israel who believe that Europe is a paradise of
civilization compared to their own country. They should take a look at
the multiple smears, lies, insults and accusations being traded off
between protagonists in the Brexit campaign.

Labour is currently
at a low in opinion polls, due to the ascendancy of extreme leftist
Jeremy Corbyn as its leader. But the Brexit debate on occasion seems to
be tearing the Conservative party apart. Prime Minister David Cameron,
who is in favor of remaining in the EU accused the Brexit campaigners of
six lies covering Britain's economy, security and sovereignty.[14]
Conservative MP and Brexit supporter Nadine Dorries said that she and
her colleagues no longer trusted Cameron or [the Chancellor of the
Exchequer] Osborne because of their “repeated lies” during the Remain
campaign.[15] These two small examples are part of an ocean of foul language and scaremongering.